Evermore
by MyCedarChest
Summary: Some people say that love is fleeting, but for one couple love it seems transcends even time.


**Most of the characters in this story belong to Marvel Comics and whoever else has current legal ownership of Iron Man at the moment. No infringement on any corporate, business, or individual's rights is intended in any way. This story is not being written for profit, just for enjoyment.**

**Sorry that it's been a while since my last story. My muse it seems has been on strike for better working conditions. This departure from my usual format appeared to be just what my muse needed to jump start her again. Enjoy!**

**Evermore**

The tall grass blew upon the hilltop like a stormy sea of emerald green. Sera squinted against the sun as it fought its way thru the dark morning clouds. The air hung thick with the night's campfires and the morning dew. As she patiently waited for her guards to return with their prisoners, Sera wondered again why Romans were venturing onto her lands.

"I would advise caution in dealing with these Roman soldiers" the soft voice of her most trusted advisor, Kiera cautioned "since we do not know their numbers or their intentions as of yet."

Sera turned to her and a small smile broke out on Sera's face. Sera's father who had been the ruler of their lands for decades had passed away less than a year ago naming Sera to rule in his place. Sera was wise and hardened well beyond her 19 years of age. She had developed into a fair and level headed ruler who possessed an uncanny ability to read people's true intentions: a talent that she had found very useful to her as leader of her people.

And even though she had found herself surrounded by her people every waking moment of the day, she had found herself feeling a little lonely at times since the spring. Sera blamed her loneliness on the fact that she no longer had the time to spend outdoors enjoying the very limited sunshine found in her part of the world because she was always cooped up inside most days in her business of running her kingdom.

Her best friend, supporter and advisor Kiera had of course noticed Sera's mood change in the spring. And Kiera had come to her very own conclusion that Sera was spending **way** too much time in the company of old men. So Kiera had begun to annoyingly do her best to try to secure a young husband for Sera during the summer months and had managed to both anger and amuse Sera with her botched attempts to secure the 'perfect' man for her. And as a result of Kiera's efforts, Sera was now suspicious of Kiera's motives regarding anything male.

"You know I always use caution." Sera deadpanned to Kiera. "Are you sure that you didn't invite the Romans here in the hopes of finding a husband for me?"

Kiera cut her eyes sharply at her friend and then smiled slyly at her. "But of **course** that is my plan." she snarked back at Sera. "And when we have all of the Roman soldiers as our prisoners we will then order them to remove their drab Roman clothing so we can look them **all **over. Then I'll pick out the one with the largest manhood for you to choose as your husband."

Sera laughed out loud at her friend who then chuckled back at her in response. Since she was 10 years of age, Sera's position as future ruler had many males vying for her attention and consideration, but she had never expressed more than a passing interest in choosing any of them as a future husband, much to her Father's and Kiera's dismay.

But then Sera had always been a practical person with an eye to the serious path that her position required of her. So Kiera had become impatient with Sera's lack of male companionship on more than one occasion throughout the years.

And Sera had always lectured Kiera in return for her not so subtle husband hunting tactics: 'If you are so interested in marriage, then maybe you should marry one of these men, Kiera. I will know when I find the right man for me and until then, I don't have time to play those silly romance games.' Sera would always scold her.

"And I am sure that on this cold, damp morning, that none of those Roman soldiers would **measure** up to your expectations anyway." Sera coyly responded and both women began to laugh quietly at Sera's efforts at humor.

Slowly four helmeted heads appeared from below the hill followed immediately by Sera's guards. The Romans soldiers appeared to be very young in age, and in relatively good health but definitely too lean. Sera immediately suspected that their meals were not very regular or very nourishing.

The group came to a sudden halt in front of the two women.

"My Lady." The head of her guard spoke with a quick bow. "We found these men attempting to kill an ox during the night. They say they wanted the animal for food for their legion."

Oxen were very important to her people. They were the power behind farming in their region and without them her people would fall upon hard times. Sera narrowed her eyes at the Romans and she swore one of them actually cringed.

Sera had been taught both Greek and Latin at an early age, as well as Pig Latin, the language which most of the Roman soldiers spoke.

In Pig Latin, Sera addressed the Romans. "Killing oxen is a great crime in our land punishable by death. Who is the leader of your group?"

One of the soldiers straightened his tunic slightly and stepped forward. "I am, my lady." He said quietly.

"How did you come to decide to attempt to kill one of our oxen?" Sera pressed.

"Our commander ordered that we secure meat for our men." The Roman answered.

"By what name does this commander of yours go by?" Sera boldly questioned.

"General Anthony Marcos, my lady." The Roman answered in almost a prideful way.

Sera thought back upon some news from years ago concerning a Marcos family in Rome being high in the political ranks. Her dad always insisted that they keep up with the politics of other nations through their trade relationships. Sera remembered stories of how her father had negotiated with a Marcos man during his youth and they had become good friends. Perhaps this Roman general was related to this family attaining the rank of general through political ties instead of military experience. But that would not explain why these Romans were so far from home and on her lands late in autumn, just before winter set in with no means to even feed themselves during the cold weather. Maybe this General was sent here as punishment or to get him out of the way of proceedings in Rome under the guise of a promotion. Sera's natural curiosity began driving her to find answers to her questions.

"**You** will return to your General Anthony Marcos and give him this message for me." Sera commanded the leader of the group punctuating her order with her index finger directed at the Roman soldier. "Let him know that I wish to negotiate the release of your fellow Romans here, and that if he is interested in securing their lives, then he and only two of his highest ranking officers must come here in person and unarmed to negotiate with me. The rest of your officers and army must stay where they are." Sera heard Kiera draw in a sharp breath at this, but Sera ignored her concern.

Sera quietly spoke to her head guard. "Get yourselves and these men here fed a good meal. Her guard motioned his men off with the Romans. Once they were out of earshot Sera continued to her head guard. "Once fed and rested, release that one and follow him at a distance back to his camp. Then send one of your men back to me to report the numbers and strengths of the Romans, but keep the Roman army in your sights. If their General is loyal to his men, he will come to me. If their general is not an honorable man, then at least we will know the Roman's strength in numbers."

Her guard bowed and walked away quickly leaving Sera and Kiera alone.

"If this Marcos came overland, then he cannot have many soldiers, or we would have heard from our neighbors to the south before now. If they had come by boat we would have spotted them days ago. I don't believe we are being invaded, Kiera. There is something else going on here." Sera said quietly.

Kiera narrowed her eyes at Sera. "We have lost so many of our men to the Celts to the east in the spring battle; we would be hard pressed to defend ourselves from even a small group of Romans. You know this. I hope your instincts hit their mark here."

"Call for council with the militia, so we can plan our defense just in case I'm wrong." Sera replied and she and Kiera turned and walked back to the council building.

Two nights passed and the following morning Sera was awakened by Kiera.

"One of the guards has returned from the Roman's camp." She said quickly helping Kiera put on clothes.

Sera and Kiera met with the guard in the front of council building.

"My Lady." The guard started after bowing in respect. "We counted 210 Roman soldiers armed with sword and spear. Just before I left, the Roman General and two of his officers were leaving the rest of the Roman army and are headed here. They appeared unarmed."

Sera inwardly smiled and thanked the gods for their gift of keen instinct to her. "Good work. Now go eat and rest. You deserve that." Sera said to the guard who shyly smiled and bowed slightly to her before leaving the building.

Kiera smiled at Sera "So now we wait and see what the General has to say?"

Sera nodded. "We should expect them by tomorrow late. Let the council know to be ready to defend us just to be safe."

In the waning afternoon of the following day, Sera and Kiera began watching from the top of their defensive wall surrounding their inner city in expectation of the arrival of the Romans. The Romans had been spotted nearby by some of the farmers of one of the outlying villages who had sent a swift runner to the city to alert Sera.

Close to dusk, three helmeted figures approached the city gates. Militia had alerted Sera to their arrival and both she and Kiera approached the Romans once they had entered the gate and now backed by about twenty of Sera's militia guards. As the three men drew closer, the Romans appeared to be unarmed, so Sera motioned for the guards to stand down. Sera approached the Romans slowly with Kiera only two steps behind her. The General came to a sudden halt about ten feet from Sera, his eyes quickly locking with hers. Sera gazed quickly at the General as she continued her approach and made a quick assessment of him based on his appearance. He appeared to be in his early twenties, well muscled, shoulders tensed, and his body posturing definitely squared towards her in a somewhat defiant stance. His red robe of command gently moved with the breeze as silence engulfed the group.

In the growing twilight, Sera could not see clearly into the helmets of the Romans. Sera was uncomfortable with the waning light because she always used eye contact as a tool for reading her opponents true intentions.

Sera stopped about 5 feet away from the soldiers speaking in perfect Latin to the Romans. "Remove your helmets." She commanded as she squared off her body with the General as if to reinforce her request.

The Roman soldiers looked to their General and did not move. Seconds passed as the twilight deepened. Slowly the General pulled off his helmet tucking it easily under one of his muscled arms.

Sera's breath suddenly caught in her throat at the sight of the General's face. She unconsciously took a step forward as the two Roman soldiers who appeared to be officers of the General also removed their helmets. Sera's eyes locked with the General's as darkness suddenly fell.

Then in the cloudless sky full of stars, a low rumble of thunder suddenly peeled through the village, increasing in its intensity and volume until the earth trembled beneath their feet. Slowly the sound and vibrations receded leaving all of them confused and many of the villagers equally as frightened. Fearing for their safety during the unexpected noise, Kiera had turned to look at Sera. Kiera was somewhat surprised that Sera and the General appeared to be frozen in place, their gazes still locked upon each other's faces with such intensity that they were obviously oblivious to the noise as well as the earth moving under their feet.

One of the kingdom's elders, Keila who had helped to raise both Sera and Kiera quietly moved to stand at Kiera's side and quickly whispered to her. "**This** is a sign of joining. Two soul mates have now found one another." The old women said as she affectionately patted Kiera on the arm. "Kiera, you can stop looking for a husband for Sera now."

Kiera blinked in surprise and again looked intently at Sera who stood motionless now not two steps away from the General who also stood motionless his eyes still locked with Sera's. Kiera had no idea how or why Sera was standing that close to a potential enemy. She swiftly moved forward to touch Sera gently on the shoulder, pulling her back slightly as she leaned her head close to hers, wishing to keep their conversation private.

"You need to invite them inside and into the light so we can get a better look at them." Kiera whispered into Sera's ear.

Sera shook her head slightly hoping to get her thoughts collected before she spoke to the General. "Please join us inside so we may discuss the release of your soldiers." Sera said quietly to the General.

The General hesitated for a few seconds, but then slowly followed her and Kiera inside the building. As he walked he was flanked by his officers. They entered a room with a circular table in the center of it and Sera motioned for the General and his officers to sit down.

Sera then positioned herself directly across from the General. Kiera sat to her right and one of her council sat on her left. The guards stood around the inside wall well away from the table.

"I am Sera, ruler of these lands." Sera spoke her eyes seeking out and capturing the General's eyes once again. The light had confirmed the General's youth, as well as revealed his clean shaven face, black wavy hair cropped bowl-like in front just above his eyebrows, and falling just below his neckline in the back. His eyes were honey brown with darker brown swirls mixed within the honey, and his skin tone was tanned dark from the sun. Sera suddenly realized that this was indeed the most handsome man that she had ever seen in her life. Sera then quickly attempted to tamp down her immediate hormonal reaction to his physical appearance. She was now hoping that her face had not betrayed her physical attraction to the General so he would not try to use her attraction to him as leverage in their talks. She had always prided herself in not showing her true feelings during negotiations, especially during important ones like this.

"I am Anthony Marcos." The General spoke slowly and solemnly as he returned Sera's unrelenting gaze. "I command the Roman legion currently camped upon your lands. I am here to offer myself up to you as your prisoner in exchange for the release of my men. My soldiers did as I ordered them to do, and I therefore am solely responsible for their acts." The General's officers shifted nervously in their seats and looked at their general with thinly veiled concern.

Sera was impressed with the General's earnest plea for the release of his men. Suddenly the thought of having the General as her personal prisoner held some interesting possibilities. She tried to quickly rid her mind of such carnal thoughts not wanting her desires to cloud her judgment at the moment.

"Your devotion to your men is admirable" Sera replied quietly, "but your promise to leave our lands in peace with your men and return to your travels is more than adequate to buy their release."

Sera saw a flash of emotion in the General's eyes and the beginnings of a smile on his face as she continued speaking to him. "However you do realize that winter is quickly on its way making your travels more difficult and the pursuit of food even more perilous. If I may ask you, where are you and your men traveling to?"

The General looked at Sera, his face suddenly serious. "I am the grandson of Leonardo Marcos, senator of Rome. I was sent as an envoy to search of the family of Lord Patrick by my grandfather, after learning of the death of Lord Patrick. My mission is to offer condolences to his family and bring an offer of partnership and protection to his kingdom on behalf of the Roman Empire. We had hoped to contact his family before now, but the wet weather had slowed our march considerably."

Sera suddenly forgot to breathe, until Kiera gently nudged her in the ribs forcing her to suck in her breath quite audibly. "Patrick was my father." Was all she could come up with to say in response to the realization that the man before her was related to a long time friend of her father's.

The General's eyes suddenly sparkled with happiness, and Sera unexpectedly felt her heart beat just a little faster. "My grandfather spoke very highly of your father. He counted him as a friend. He was most saddened at the news of his death." He said quietly.

Sera quickly looked over at Kiera who gave her a knowing smile and nodded her head.

"General, my people and I would be honored to have your legion stay with us over the winter. We could help each other by utilizing your offer of partnership and protection, leaving you to return to Rome when spring comes." Sera said turning back to the General with a smile now breaking out slowly upon her face.

One of his officers spoke into the General's right ear. "So will I return to the legion tonight and order breaking camp at dawn General?" the officer quietly asked leaning towards the General.

"Yes." The General replied to his officer with a quick nod of his head. The officer immediately rose to leave, bowing respectfully to Sera before walking swiftly away from them. The general then turned his full attention back to Sera "My soldiers and I are now at your service, my lady" he said with the beginnings of a small smile lighting up his sun tanned face.

Sera flashed him a quick shy smile in reply. "Cold weather is rapidly approaching and your Roman tents will not be adequate protection from the weather. You and your men are to be quartered within our city with our families in small groups. You all will be well taken care of." She declared.

"My thanks again, my lady." The General replied, bowing his head slightly while holding her eyes with his.

As she looked deep into his eyes, Sera felt her own smile growing larger. "My pleasure." Sera quickly replied and Kiera snorted in amusement knowing just how much her friend had already fallen for the General. Sera quickly reached her foot out to kick Kiera under the table gently.

"You and your officers are welcome to stay within our household given the large numbers of your commanding ranks." Sera offered up to the General who then smiled quite sincerely at her. Sera noticed that with that particular smile, his face became even more youthful. Sera was quick to guess that the General could not be more than two or three years older than her. Given his rank, even relationships within Rome's leadership would not be the sole reason for him to lead a legion at such a young age. She guessed that his leadership and warring skills must indeed be exceptional.

A full lunar cycle quickly passed by and even though Sera saw the General at the evening meal each night, her duties as ruler and his as commander left them with only time for a brief conversation immediately after this meal each night to talk in private. But they quickly became comfortable with each as it became apparent that the two of them had much in common.

Sera was very relieved to find out after her cautious questioning that the General had no wife or even a special woman waiting for him to return to Rome. And she was quite pleased when he openly expressed his happiness after she told him that she had no betroved or serious suitor.

And of course, being a military man, their after dinner conversations would often turn to discussions of various defensive strategies. Sera was impressed with the General's suggestions on strengthening the defenses around her lands particularly their city and after a particularly serious discussion one evening, she was quick to invite the General to a meeting with her security counsel the next afternoon. The security counsel agreed to adopt most of the General's suggestions at the meeting which seemed to please the General greatly. He had then generously offered to help oversee the implementation of the changes which in turn had pleased Sera knowing that she would get to see more of the General during this time.

Immediately after the meeting and completely on a whim which was somewhat out of character for her, she invited the General for a horse ride down to the river. The first snow of the season had already fallen and the cold weather had forced the Roman soldiers to accept cold weather outerwear including boots which the women of her city had eagerly provided for them. Normally enjoying the cold weather, Sera had actually found herself mourning the temperature change because it now meant that the Roman soldiers, and in particular the General, had to cover up their well honed bodies. She had of course, scoffed at herself at her own base thoughts knowing that those thoughts were not very worthy of her position.

At Sera's request, two horses were brought out for them to ride. The General politely waved off the second horse and quickly mounted Sera's mare. He then held his left hand out to her in a silent offer for her to ride behind him. Sera immediately knew that he was now offering to shield her from the cold wind as they rode.

"This way one of us gets to stay warm." He told her with a mischievous twinkle in his honey eyes. Their private conversations had begun to have a flirty teasing within them recently and Sera had found herself quite enjoying the General's sense of humor as he made small attempts to flirt with her.

She gave him a small but sincere smile at his subtle gallantry, and then reached out with her left hand to him. He immediately reached down and wrapped his fingers around her forearm securely as she did the same with his arm. In less than a second he had pulled her onto her horse in one swift but fluid motion.

Sera then couldn't resist wrapping her right arm securely around his midsection, raising her left hand over his left shoulder in order to point the way down to the river for him.

He quickly looked back over his shoulder and smiled shyly at her as he slowly pulled her hands under his heavy outer cloak, placing them securely around his torso before quickly turning back and gently urging her horse forward.

Sera smiled to herself and silently gave into her sudden urge to lean her head down to rest gently on his left shoulder as her mare began the slow walk down towards the river.

She could now feel the strong muscles in his abdomen flex and relax as he balanced both of them on their ride down the steep, rocky but quite beautiful trail towards the river valley. This was Sera's favorite trail and she was suddenly quite happy to be sharing it with the General. In the cool crisp air, she quickly relaxed as she breathed in his scent, and sighed softly as she simply let herself mould into his body. She closed her eyes as she felt and heard him manage her mare. He was so very kind and gentle with her horse and she was suddenly reminded of one of her many conversations with her father. Her father had often told her that a good man also treated all of the earth's creatures well.

She also remembered her private conversation with her mentor Keila yesterday after breakfast when Keila had reminded her that Roman or not, the man she currently had her arms and body wrapped around was indeed Sera's soul mate, and that their joining was both foretold and inevitable. Sera's rational mind didn't quite believe all of Keila's mystical words surrounding the General, but she also knew that she had never in her life been quite so impulsive and forward with anyone as she was with the General. When she thought of him, it was as though she had fallen into a spring rain swollen creek and was being swept away somehow knowing that she was not in control, but at the same time being lost in the thrill of the feeling anyway. And she knew without a doubt that her attraction to him had grown stronger every time they were together.

Too soon it seemed the General drew up her mare and Sera tilted her head up to look again over his shoulder. Before them lay the river bank. The General nimbly threw his right leg over the neck of her mare and slid down to plant his boots upon the river rock. He turned and looked up expectantly at Sera and then slowly held his arms up to her, wanting to help her down. Sera couldn't help a slow grin forming on her face at his kind gesture.

Her eyes were immediately caught by his and she immediately felt the need behind his longing gaze. She slowly swung her right leg over her mare's back and slid down the side of her horse right into the arms of the General.

As his arms encircled her, she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck hugging him into her. The sensation of his body against hers quickly caused her breath to hitch in her throat. She was quite positive that she had never felt like this in her life and she instantly knew that her mentor, Keila had been right: the man in her arms was indeed very special to her. She could now feel him slowly draw away from her and she slowly opened her eyes to look directly into his eyes as he locked gazes with her once again.

"Please forgive me, my lady" he began as he slowly moved his face closer to hers "but I have wanted to do this since the first time my eyes beheld you."

He quickly closed the small gap between them and she watched as his eyes closed as he drew her to him. She quickly closed her eyes as she felt his soft lips gently cover her own. She instantly knew that all the kisses she had received in the past could not compare to this one, and she suddenly felt her knees weaken in response as the pressure from his lips slowly increased.

Then just as quickly as it began, the kiss was over. She slowly opened her eyes to find him tenderly resting his forehead against hers.

"Thank you, my lady." He whispered to her, nuzzling against her as he tenderly stroked up and down her down covered back with his hands.

She didn't quite know what to say to him so she decided that politeness would be a good start. "You are quite welcome, General." She replied as a small smile broke out on his face. She quickly decided that honestly was also required between them. "And I too have wanted this since I had first cast my eyes upon you."

The General's smile slowly became wider. "I am quite glad that you feel the same as I." He said simply, his honey eyes now twinkling with happiness.

He slowly let go of her and she immediately felt the loss of the both the warmth of his body and his nearness. He quickly reached out and took the reins of her horse in his right hand as he offered her his left arm in a quite obvious protective gesture. She accepted his arm with a smile as he smiled back at her.

They walked along the river bank in silence until they came upon a large ledge which hung out over the river much like a balcony. Sera quickly pointed up to the top of the ledge and let go of his arm as she began to climb skillfully up to the top of the ledge. Within seconds, she could feel him less than a foot behind her as she continued her steep climb up to the top.

As they both stood on the ledge overlooking the river, Sera was overcome as usual by the simple beauty of the view.

"My thinking place." She told him simply as he moved to stand at her side. She could now feel the fingers of his right hand lace with her left hand's fingers and no matter how she tried, she was unable to suppress her body's shiver at his touch.

"This is indeed a fine place to think." He said simply as she squeezed his fingers tenderly in a silent reply.

She glanced over at him as he gazed out over the river valley. His face in profile was one of perfection she thought to herself and she continued to look him over from the top of his wavy dark hair of his head down to his strong jaw line.

He slowly turned to face her and her eyes quickly traveled up his face to gaze into his eyes. She watched in amazement as his honey eyes quickly turned dark with emotion leaving no doubt in her mind as to the depth of his feelings for her. She quickly forced herself to exhale the breath she was holding as she let go of his hand and raised both hands to lock her fingers behind his neck and into his dark curls of his hair.

She found herself no longer able to contain her emotions as she suddenly recalled a distant childhood memory. "I do **think** that I have been waiting for you my entire life." She quietly explained as she felt his arms encircle her waist tenderly. "I would often come up here as a child and daydream about marrying my one true love. But as I grew up and began to bear the mantles of leadership, my dreams soon left me." She said quietly to him as he began to draw her closer to him. "That is…. until now." She barely managed to get out as his lips once again descended upon her own. Their kiss soon deepened and she quickly felt herself fall once again back into her dream.

They slowly parted, both of them breathless after their long kiss. "I too have been waiting for you it seems." He confessed also. "My parents and grandparents had never understood why I would never commit myself to one woman, nor participate in any arranged marriages. And I didn't really know either…that is until I met you."

Suddenly a shaft of sunlight shone out of the clouds quickly enveloping them in its warmth. A soft layer of moss covered part of the ledge and the General suddenly let her go and quickly pulled off his heavy cloak folding it to form a blanket which he then laid upon the moss.

He walked quickly back to her within his eyes her own eyes easily read his intentions. She did not hesitate at all. She slowly began to unfasten her cloak, turning around in front of him as he gently helped to pull the garment from around her. He quickly fastened it into a pillow as he walked over to where his own cloak covered the ground, and gently laid her cloak at the head of this makeshift bed.

He turned and held his arms out to her as she slowly walked to stand in front of him. He smiled shyly at her once again as she began to unfasten his belt from his tunic. As his belt dropped to the moss covered surface of the ledge, she held out her arms to him and he gently lowered her down to lay upon his cloak.

She looked up and him and watched as his hands quickly drew off his tunic exposing his well muscled body to her. Not quite being able to help herself being the leader of an agriculture based society, she began to appraise his now very prominent physical attributes and quickly came to the conclusion that he would indeed sire many children…their children. And she also knew that he would be a good father for their children too, judging by his temperament.

He slowly lowered himself to the ground beside her as his hands slowly began to unfasten her garments until she too was naked on the ground beside him. He slowly rolled onto his elbows positioning himself just above her and he then moved his legs between hers as he continued to lock eyes with hers, silently seeking out her continued permission with each of his movements. She smiled at him amidst her moans of pleasure as their bare bodies began to touch one another. He began to return her smiles in between showering her neck and breasts with soft, open mouthed kisses.

And as she looked deep into his eyes, she knew that this joining between them would be a permanent one, never to be broken. And within his eyes she was able to see quite plainly that he too meant to forge a lasting relationship with her. He was now her husband in every way but deed, and she knew that too would be quickly remedied. They slowly kissed again as she began to wrap her legs around his waist. He moaned softly as he slowly entered her warmth. He continued to move slowly and gently not wanting to hurt her as he buried himself deep within her heat. As he began to pull out and thrust into her once more, he leaned his head down in order to capture her lips once again in a loving kiss.

Very quickly their bodies began to develop a rhythm in their lovemaking, and his thrusts soon began to build in both strength and frequency. Her right hand dropped down to his backside as she began to squeeze the well developed muscles there as her other hand quickly busied itself carding her fingers through his thick, dark hair. Sera soon began to feel her body moving quickly towards her release and her moaned name upon his lips quickly sent her emotions and her body soaring. As her mind began to clear, she became aware of him driving deep within her as he shouted her name, his body finally stilling on top of hers after several more thrusts as he emptied his seed into her womb.

As she opened her eyes, she noticed that both of their bodies were covered in a soft sheen and their heavy breaths continued to send out clouds of white into the cold air surrounding them.

He slowly leaned his head back and looked down at her with both raw love and lust showing in his face. "You are now mine as I am yours." He softly said leaning down to kiss her once again.

"Now and forever." Sera replied from her heart as he leaned down to kiss her once again and her eyes closed.

In her mind's eye she could now see their lives together flash before her eyes. Their 15 children. Him ruling her kingdom at her side. A long trip back to Rome to visit his parents and grandparents. But then suddenly in her mind's eye she could also see them together living out other lives as well. Fleeting glimpses of their many children, their homes, their family and friends throughout the ages began to swirl and play within her mind. She suddenly realized that the two of them really would be spending forever together. "Now and forever." She repeated over and over again as she continued to keep her eyes closed, focusing on the memories and feelings that were flowing rapidly behind her closed eyes.

"Now and forever." She breathed once more as she slowly re-opened her eyes. It was now dark, and the sound of the flowing river under the ledge had somehow been replaced with the sound of ocean waves crashing upon a rocky shore. She also became aware of a strong arm around her belly and she could now feel calloused fingers drawing lazy, warm patterns all over her stomach. She could feel another strong hand stroking her hair soothingly. She began to rapidly blink the sleep from her eyes as she realized that her stomach was now the size of a basketball and she could suddenly feel her unborn children kicking within her as if they were both running a full court press.

"Baby" a muffled, deep voice spoke at the back of her head "I told you not to eat all those cucumbers with your salad." She could now feel him nuzzle the back of her neck with his nose as he continued his sleepy speech to her. "You know that cucumbers always give you weird dreams."

She felt her eyes drifting closed again, but quickly opened them as she became aware of not only where she was but who she was in bed with. "I know, honey." She replied sleepily "But they are **so** good."

Her man chuckled behind her, his humor gently shaking her. The children within her womb suddenly stilled, as if feeling the presence of their father somehow held a calming effect on them. "So what's with the 'now and forever', sweetheart? Were you practicing another one of your famous CEO speeches in your sleep again?"

At the mention of those words, she was suddenly pulled back into the memory of her own dream. In the silent few seconds that followed his questions, she felt him raise up behind her as he tenderly pulled back her hair so he could look down at her face.

"Pepper?" he asked cautiously, stroking her cheek with his thumb tenderly. "Sweetheart, what's wrong?" He quickly followed with, the concern in his voice growing with each word.

She quickly opened her eyes and looked up into the worried eyes of her husband. "I'm fine, Tony." She replied "Just trying to remember my dream, that's all."

He continued to look down expectantly at her. Since the Chitauri invasion and their battle with the Extremis virus, they had both been sharing their dreams with each other as part of an agreement with their joint therapist. There was no doubt that their sharing had been helping both of them regain just a bit of sanity in their lives.

But given their long history together, she just couldn't help but tease him just a little given such an opportunity. "I was just dreaming about making love on a ledge by a river." She said, her voice lowering just a bit to give it more of a sexual edge to it.

"With me of course." He eagerly supplied.

She immediately pressed her advantage. "Actually it was a Roman General that was making passionate love to me, if you must know."

"What general?!" he was quick to blurt out as his eyes opened wide. He had been jealous of her since the first day he met her. "Someone I know?"

She smiled shyly at him. They both loved to tease each other, and she knew just exactly what it would take for him to get quickly out of control. "Intimately." Was her one word answer, and she immediately saw his eyebrows move up into his hairline.

"Nobody better be hitting on **my** woman in dreamland or otherwise." He huffed with a frown.

She loved this man so much and immediately wanted to put his jealousy fears to rest so as to not genuinely upset him. Since they had married, she had noticed that he seemed to be just a little more sensitive when it came to sharing her with anyone. And even though it was cucumber induced, her dream actually made her consider whether or not she and Tony could actually be 'soul mates'. She had really never thought about such a connection between them ever before. And if he scoffed at the idea, then of course she could always blame her current philosophical thoughts on her pregnancy hormones.

"Do you believe in the concept of soul mates?" She asked him quietly as he suddenly stilled, staring intently now into her eyes.

He let out a long breath before he responded. "When I was in that cave, Yinsen had asked me that very same question." He said he eyes suddenly losing focus "I told him that I had never thought about it before." He continued as he closed his eyes to the memory, pausing for a few seconds before continuing. "Yinsen then told me that he believed that **you** were **my** soul mate." He slowly opened his eyes immediately finding her eyes as he looked at her with reverence and continued in a whisper to her. "After I got back home, I did a lot of thinking about my life and I realized quickly that you were the one woman on earth that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I knew then that Yinsen had been right about you being my soul mate. And now I cannot even conceive of a life apart from you."

Pepper's eyes opened wide and her heart soared at his words. "And I can't imagine a life without you either, Tony." She replied quietly waiting a moment before continuing to tell him about her dream. "My dream took place in the Gaelic age. It seemed that I had inherited a kingdom and you were a Roman General sent to deliver a message from Rome to me. In my dream, one of the elders of my kingdom declared us soul mates when the first time we met thunder sounded in a cloudless night which meant that our bonding was both foretold and inevitable. We quickly fell in love, married, and ended up having 15 children together."

"Damn, I was **really** the stud back then!" Tony declared after a low whistle his eyes lighting up with unbridled happiness. "What do you say about us having 15 rug rats too, babe?!" he continued with mock sincerity "You always said that you wanted to have a big family, sweetheart."

"My but that's a lot of poopy diapers for you to change there, Iron Stud." She teased "Since you **did** promise to be on permanent diaper duty for all those Iron Babies you wanted, starting with our two buns in the oven here." She patted her swollen stomach gently.

"Hey, I don't remember agreeing to permanent diaper duty at all." He defended doing his best puppy eyes face at her.

Pepper was unfazed at his pretense as she reached back behind her, gently taking his manhood within her fingers and gently stroking him, making him immediately close his eyes and moan. "Is that promise coming back to you now Mr. Stark?"

He moaned loudly again as she continued to stroke him. "Yeeeessss, Mrs. Stark" He finally managed to get out. "Seems…like…I…do….remember…something….about…a…a…."

"I believe the word you are now looking for is '**promise'**, Mr. Stark" she giggled finally pulling her hand away as he pulled her gently into his now-throbbing erection. Blame it on 12 years of suppressed desire, but one touch from her was all he ever needed to turn his sex drive into warp drive.

Never wanting to be outdone, one of his hands quickly found its way down between her legs. "Looks like that dream of yours was a wet one, mi amante." He whispered seductively into her ear as his fingers found their target.

"Yeeesss, it was." She finally managed to get out, her words more moaned than spoken. She knew that he had quickly turned the tables on her, but she didn't care. He was right after all. Her dream had definitely made her ready for him. She felt him shift his legs, carefully pulling her left leg up and over his as he gently pushed his rigid manhood into her.

As he began to thrust into her, he leaned his head into the side of her neck, brushing the skin there with feather light kisses which he knew drove her absolutely crazy. She moaned again, more loudly this time. She quickly closed her eyes and gave in to her feelings. Their attraction to each other had always been a natural one. They just seemed to complete each other so perfectly. Maybe there really was something to their soul mate theory.

As he continued to make love to her, she could feel herself once again falling back into the memory of her dream. And as she quickly lost her body to its physical release, she swore that she could once again hear the water flowing in that ancient river and smell the scent of the moss on that rock ledge just like it was their very first time all over again. Lost in the raw emotions of giving herself completely to him, she knew without a doubt both at that moment in time long ago along the ancient river, as well as now in their bed in Malibu, that the emotional and spiritual connection between the two of them had been and always would be **evermore**.


End file.
